This book, which explores the advantages and limitations of written questionnaires (WQs) in social dialectology, is the first monograph-length account in sixty years on the theory, history, and administration of written questionnaires in the study of regional and social linguistic variation (xxv). The book is comprised of two parts: a historical-theoretical section (chapters 2‒6) and a practical section (chapters 7‒9).
In chapter 1, Dollinger sets the stage for his discussion of WQ studies in social dialectology by introducing three basic types of language data (introspection, elicitation, and observation) and by offering a brief account of traditional studies on dialect and geography, emphasizing two leading projects: Jules Gilliéron's fieldworker interview method and Geog Wenker's postal questionnaire method.
Chapter 2 sketches a history on the use of WQs in social dialectology and related fields, while chapter 3 explores the reliability of WQ data by comparing the data with corpus linguistic data, field-worker interviews (FI), and sociolinguistic data. The author argues that WQs have distinct advantages over corpus-linguistic methods while WQ and FI are equivalent. Chapter 4, referencing examples taken from Canadian English, focuses on lexical variables, morphological variables, syntactic variables, and phonemic variables in WQ studies.
In chapter 5, Dollinger explores the application of WQs in the contexts of World Englishes and Global Englishes, stating that the WQ designer ought to be more cautious in choosing between the comparability of data across locations and the reliability of the information.
Chapter 6 elaborates on three major concepts in sociolinguistics and historical linguistics: the apparent-time hypothesis, the S-curve of linguistic change, and Labov's ‘change from above and change from below’. The author then uses Canadian English to illustrate several social correlates of linguistic change, such as age, gender, border effects, the sociohistorical koinéization model, and issues of homogeneity and heterogeneity.
Chapters 7‒9 serve as a guide for beginners in the design of a WQ study. Chapter 7 addresses matters concerning questionnaire design including planning the WQ, determining its overall structure, designing the questions, and accurately modelling the sample population. Chapter 8 describes three established methods for analyzing WQ data: referencing the Dialect Topography web portal (for Canada and regions of the United States that border Canada), comparing data to social-indices calculations, and using Excel spreadsheets. Based on geography-specific WQ data obtained from the Dialect Topography project, the author then constructs a useful how-to guide on downloading, categorizing, and analyzing similar data. Chapter 9 addresses the topics of statistical testing and hypothesis modelling of WQ data. Dollinger believes that statistical techniques can help researchers draw conclusions from data that would not be apparent with nonstatistical methods, and proposes that data be statistically modelled in the open source software suite R.
Chapter 10 is an epilogue. The author points out that WQs, being time-efficient, cost-effective, and easy to administer, are highly reliable and valid in the field of social dialectology.
This book will be of interest to researchers in the fields of empirical linguistics and sociolinguistics, and to anyone planning to employ written questionnaires in the study of language variation and change (xxvi).
* Book note funded by Zhejiang Provincial Planning Office of Philosophy and Social Science (Grant No.17NDJC033Z) and by Ministry of Education, China (Grant No.17YJC740072).
